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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28326201">you bring me home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/beanpod/pseuds/beanpod'>beanpod</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Kid Fic, M/M, Parent Steve Rogers, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, it makes sense I promise, widower steve rogers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:27:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,036</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28326201</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/beanpod/pseuds/beanpod</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>For the Single Parent AU square at Stucky Bingo 2020. </p><p>In which Bucky has a (pathetic—<i>shut up, Natasha</i>) crush on Neighbor Steve Rogers and a soft spot for his kid, and Alpine jumps the fence like it's going out of style.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Stucky Bingo 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hooooboooi. my one true weakness, stucky and kids. i wanted to be done with this before christmas but you know how life is. big thank you to the bingo mods because i was really really really looking forward to this fill. uh, nothing too dire happens, but i will put up some extra tags as it goes. </p><p>a big thank you as well to phia, who's been holding my hand for the past month and will hopefully continue to do so for another extra couple months! </p><p>happy hols, everyone ♥</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bucky stares at Steve’s front door and cringes.</p><p>God, this is getting really pathetic. He admits sometimes he does come up with silly excuses just to talk to Steve for a few minutes, but this one’s pushing it, he thinks.</p><p>It’s all Clint’s fault.</p><p>The ‘Do you happen to have an extra cup of sugar? I’m making cupcakes’ one has been used twice this past month, and the second time Steve had looked at him with a quirked smile and a raised eyebrow that had made Bucky blush so hard he’d been lightheaded by the time he was back in his kitchen. At least he’d given half of the batch he’d made for Clint’s niece to Steve so he could share them with Ben.</p><p>Another common occurrence, which is not really an excuse but a <em>necessity</em>, is Bucky knocking on Steve’s front door to ask if Al’s jumped the fence <em>again</em>. Steve’s always a little sheepish about that one because Ben loves her and Al’s weak for kids missing their front teeth, apparently. The few times Bucky’s had to take (read: pry) Alpine from the Rogers’, he’s found her curled on the stoop that leads from Steve’s living room towards his patio, which is definitely a sunnier spot than Bucky’s own, so he kinda understands her B&amp;E tendencies.</p><p>Alpine doesn’t appreciate being taken from there, though, and usually digs her tiny little devil-claws in Bucky’s right arm, yowling all the way like she’s being <em>kidnapped,</em> and stares at him with eyes that say “I know where you sleep, I can eat you.”</p><p>He doesn’t strictly plan the ‘I locked myself out—may I climb your fence?’ one, but if anyone asks it’s definitely Clint’s fault because Bucky had no business taking a ride back home, he’d been glad to take a cab. If he <em>had</em> taken a cab, at least he’d done a more thorough body-pat of his belongings as he’d left Nat’s place.</p><p>Bucky should stop hanging out with them, period.</p><p>Steve, though—Steve’s nice about it, as he always is whenever Bucky knocks on his door. Right now, he blinks at Bucky, his hair messy and his eyes bright as he smiles at Bucky, who scratches the back of his neck in sheepishness.</p><p>It quickly dissolves into real-honest-to-god embarrassment when Steve’s smile turns a little teasing and says, “Yeah, sure, Buck, no problem, of course you can climb the fence,” because Bucky’s brain has decided the only possible response to that is, <em>May I climb </em>you, <em>though?</em> and that’s just. A new low, probably. The fact Steve’s grown a beard in the few days Bucky hasn’t seen him is just adding insult to injury.</p><p>He pretends he isn’t about to face-plant onto his own garden because his knees might still be jelly.</p><p>Alpine is not one bit impressed. She blinks disdainfully at him from behind the sliding doors, swooshes her tail, and disappears inside.</p><p>“You land okay, Bucky?” Steve asks, poking his head over the fence. It’s barely chest-high. Great, now Bucky’s gonna start thinking about Steve’s chest, too.</p><p>“Yep,” he throws, dusting off a knee and getting back to his feet. Damn it, he landed on the one single tomato he managed to grow. He knew the metal arm couldn’t be trusted, this one’s Tony’s fault for sure.</p><p>At that moment, Ben yells-asks in that way children yell-ask for stuff, “Can I pet Al before bedtime, Bucky?”</p><p>“Ben—” Steve starts.</p><p>“Al’s already in bed, buddy, sorry,” Bucky yells back, heading towards his patio’s sliding doors. He exchanges amused smiles with Steve, who by all means looks about ready to drop dead/asleep right on his own patio. “Thanks, Steve, for the, uh… You know.”</p><p>Steve smiles again. “No problem. Anytime. Have a good night, Bucky. Ben, say goodnight.”</p><p>“Goodnight, Bucky,” Ben recites, and then adds, “Kiss Alpine for me!”</p><p>Alpine would first scratch his eyes out. “Sure thing, Ben. Goodnight, guys.”</p><p>To no one’s surprise, Alpine’s sitting on the breakfast counter when Bucky manages to make it inside without any further embarrassment or squished vegetables. She regards him with her cat-stare and Bucky <em>has to</em> raise his hands in surrender.</p><p>“Don’t give me that look, I forgot my keys!”</p><p>She remains unimpressed. Figures, really.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Bucky’s about to shove the dryer closed when the bell rings. Considering it’s almost 9pm on a Tuesday and he’s just spent the late-afternoon with the only two people he ever hangs out with, a knot of worry lodges itself at the pit of his stomach. He tries to breathe through it; there’s no reason for things to go wrong. Bucky’s home, leading a normal and quiet life, things are good.</p><p>Al’s curled on the couch but her ears twitch as Bucky walks towards the door, big blue eyes alert and tinkling. She’s out like a rocket whenever the door’s open and whoever’s standing there isn’t quick enough to shut it, so Bucky really hopes she stays sitting because it’s too late to be out there yelling for his cat.</p><p>Bucky opens the door to find Steve, hair a mess, clothes a bit rumpled and smile a little awkward under his beard, standing on his porch and squinting at the light that spills over Bucky. His hoodie’s zipped wrong, like he did it in a haste and hasn’t even bothered to check.</p><p>It’s oddly endearing.</p><p>“Hey, Steve,” Bucky says, a bit confused. “Is everything okay?”</p><p>“Bucky, hi, I’m sorry to disturb you so late—I’ve got an emergency. Kind of.” Steve’s wringing his hands together, looking flustered and fucking cute and Bucky’s ready to just, keel over.</p><p>But the knot of worry makes itself present by punching Bucky in the gut. “What happened, is everything alright? Where’s Ben—”</p><p>“M’ere,” comes a sleepy mumble from behind Steve’s large frame. Steve moves to the side to put his hand on Ben’s back, ushering him close. “Hi, Bucky,” Ben says around a rather impressive yawn. He’s in little toy car PJs and a zip-hoodie; Bucky almost wants to ask where he got the PJs so he can buy them in his size.</p><p>“Hi, buddy,” Bucky replies automatically. “Cool PJs.”</p><p>“I’ve got a work emergency,” Steve says, with a wince and a frown and all of him sort of braced for impact. “I tried the nanny but she’s not picking up, and I was wondering—”</p><p>“Al!” Ben yells-says, sounding decidedly more awake, crouching and reaching out for Alpine, who’s weaving through Bucky’s ankles. She sniffs at Ben’s outstretched palm and then headbutts him for pets, because Ben is her actual favorite and Bucky’s just… her landlord maybe.</p><p>He’s not jealous. He <em>isn’t</em>. Is Ben actually trying to steal her from right under Bucky’s nose? Because it might be working.</p><p>“Uhm,” Steve continues, “I was wondering if you could watch Ben for a bit? It won’t take long, I promise, I just gotta head in, sign some stuff, and that’s it.”</p><p>He looks real apologetic, is the thing. And embarrassed, too. It suddenly reminds Bucky of when he and Becca were in school and their mom had to pull a few extra shifts at work to cover rent and groceries that month and she had to ask a neighbor to watch them because she couldn’t afford a nanny. She’d had almost that same expression, too: a bit embarrassed, cheeks pink but chin jutted defiantly, and Bucky understands now, because he’d heard some neighbors say some nasty stuff about his ma, who’d raised them both on her own, and that shit’s just not right.</p><p>Even if Bucky didn’t have a massive crush on the guy, he knows Steve’s trying his best to raise a kid on his own.</p><p>“Sure,” Bucky says, nodding, and his heart hurts a little at the relieved sag of Steve’s shoulders, “of course, Steve, s’no problem.”</p><p>“Oh, god, thanks, Bucky, you’re a lifesaver,” Steve says, his voice a bit thick. “Ben, buddy, you’re gonna stay with Bucky for a bit, okay?”</p><p>“That means I can play with Al?” Ben asks from the floor.</p><p>“You can even help me feed her,” Bucky puts in, because she in fact needs to be fed and Bucky had <em>not</em> forgotten about that.</p><p>“Awesome,” Ben grins up at them both, and then he’s hugging Steve around the waist and saying, “Take care, daddy!” and following Alpine into the living room, who meows sweetly at him until they both disappear into the kitchen.</p><p>“Oh, that doesn’t bode well at all,” Bucky says, looking in their direction, at the same time Steve sighs, “<em>Jesus</em>, Ben.”</p><p>“I better go watch those two,” Bucky says with a smile. Steve looks contrite still, so Bucky adds, “It’s alright. I’ll put on Disney Channel and let him feed Al some treats on the couch.”</p><p>“I’m so sorry, Buck,” Steve sighs one more time. “I just. I didn’t know who else to ask.”</p><p>Jesus Christ, the knot of worry has turned into a knot of fondness and a few extra emotions Bucky to this day still has trouble picking through. It feels like a kick to the ribs. “Don’t worry, I’m happy to help. You’ve got my number, you can call anytime.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Steve says, and takes a step forward, then another, and then <em>holy shit</em> he smells so good. It’s the only thing Bucky can focus on, the fact Steve suddenly has both arms around his shoulders doesn’t register until he’s stepped back, a tiny smile on his face and relief in his eyes. Bucky’ll think about it later. <em>Much</em> later. “We had dinner already, so don’t worry about that. I’ll be back in a jiffy. Thank you so much, Buck.”</p><p>“No problem,” Bucky says, on autopilot, and smiles one last time at Steve before he walks down the porch towards his car and drives off.</p><p>Right, then.</p><p>He closes the door, and heads towards the kitchen to find Ben and Al. He’s not surprised to find Alpine back on the counter and Ben hovering close to where the cat food is stored.</p><p>“It’s her dinner time,” Bucky tells Ben. “Do you wanna help me with that?”</p><p>“Sure,” Ben nods, “I think I know where her food is, she pawed at the cabinet next to the dishwasher.”</p><p>Alpine blinks innocently up at Bucky. “You’re too smart for your own good, Al,” Bucky sighs, and Ben laughs delightedly when Bucky reaches, indeed, for the cabinet next to the dishwasher.</p><p>Bucky shows Ben how much cat food he has to scoop with the little cup and then lets him pour it on her bowl. “And while she’s munching away, we get her some fresh water, too,” he says, moving to the sink.</p><p>Ben nods and watches avidly and then timidly asks, “Is it okay to pet her while she eats?”</p><p>Bucky hums thoughtfully, “I’ve read it can be dangerous, because cats feel really protective of their food, and when you pet them, they think you’re trying to take it from them, so they can attack and hurt you.” He doesn’t mention he learned that the hard way when he’d first brought her home.</p><p>“My dad is also protective of his food when uncle Sammy comes over,” Ben says through a grin, and Bucky grins back because the picture of Steve hunching over his food protectively and hissing at whoever comes close is hilarious.</p><p>“I asked for a cat for my birthday, do you think if I get one, it can be friends with Al?” Ben asks, hopping onto a stool so he can watch Al better as she eats away.</p><p>Do cats even make friends? Bucky’s not sure, he’ll have to do research on that one. He starts on the dishes since it looks like Ben will stay in the kitchen for as long as Alpine does. “Sure,” he says anyway. “When’s your birthday?”</p><p>“December 21st,” Ben tells him, “it’s before Christmas so dad says I can ask for two presents. I know dad says one’s from mom, but I know both are from him. And uncle Sam always gets me two, too.”</p><p>Bucky manages to falter only slightly at the mention of Ben’s mom. Bucky doesn’t know that bit of Steve’s story that well, and it would be shitty to ask Ben about it. “Is it cool? Having two presents?” It’s honestly the only thing he can think to ask.</p><p>Which is good, considering Ben goes on a story about last Christmas and all the presents he got from Steve, uncle Sam (the PJs!), aunt Wanda, grandma Sara and grandpa Joe, and grandma Margaret, too. Bucky listens dutifully and asks what he thinks are the right questions until Ben is giggling and laughing and promising to show Bucky all his toys next time.</p><p>Al chooses that moment to jump onto the counter, headbutting Ben for attention, which makes him shriek.</p><p>“How did you get Alpine, Bucky?” he asks, scratching behind her ears.</p><p>Alpine meows at the sound of her name and Bucky grins at them both, leaning on the counter to also pet her a little. Surprisingly, she lets him. It’s not that she hates Bucky, but she’s still very prickly, even if she’s been here for almost four years.</p><p>“I have a friend who works at the animal shelter, it’s where puppies and kittens that don’t have families yet stay. Sometimes there’s birds, too. I was helping my friend and that’s how I met Alpine. She was tiny,” Bucky cups his hands together to show Ben exactly how tiny Al was, and he giggles, “seriously! I could hold her in one hand, she was so tiny, and she was white as a snowball. I adopted her after a few days, and she’s lived with me since.”</p><p>Ben scratches under Al’s chin. “A tiny baby. I also want a kitten so I can feed it and help it grow.”</p><p>“Feeding is very important, yes,” Bucky agrees. He scratches the side of his head. “Speaking of… Are you hungry? I think I’ve got some oatmeal cookies.”</p><p>“Nah, I’m not hungry, I had a lot of lasagna. My dad makes the best lasagna, Bucky,” Ben tells him seriously, grinning and drumming his hands on the table. “He uses grandma Sarah’s recipe, but hers is always better.” He blinks. “Don’t tell him I said that.”</p><p>Bucky grins. “Your secret’s safe with me, pal.”</p><p>From then on Ben asks Bucky if he can cook (he can), what his favorite food is (his grandma’s chicken pot pie—to which then leads to a battle of the grandmas), and what his least favorite food is (anything with beets, which Ben wholeheartedly agrees with, and that’s two secrets Bucky’s keeping for him).</p><p>Ben tries not to show it too much, but he glances at the metal arm interestedly. Bucky wonders if Steve sat him down before coming over and told him not to ask.</p><p>Eventually he does ask, “Can we go back to the living room so we can play?”</p><p>Bucky nods. “Sure, go on ahead. She’ll show you where everything is.”</p><p>Al meows primly, and Bucky can’t help but laugh.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Bucky doesn’t usually hang out with eight-year-olds. He doesn’t have any nieces or nephews yet and the only reference he has is Tony’s kid, who’s much younger than Ben, so Bucky’s back to flying blind here.</p><p>Not that Bucky’s ever had a chance or reason to babysit Morgan. If anything, sometimes it looks like Morgan (and Pepper) babysit Tony.</p><p>Ben’s a good kid, though, polite and mostly on the quiet side, all his smiles directed at Al, who so far’s been sitting Ben herself and slants unimpressed eyes at Bucky whenever he checks in on them in the living room. Ben caught sight of Al’s toys and has been trying and succeeding to get her attention and having her run around chasing feathers and tiny mice. Bucky’s got a feeling Al’s humoring them both when she actually plays along.</p><p>Steve texts <em>How are things going</em>, around thirty minutes after he’s left.</p><p>Bucky smiles like a fool at his phone while also trying really hard <em>not to</em>. He’s had Steve’s number for a year (thanks to the Neighborhood Watch group chat and Mrs. Chang across the street who always winks at Bucky whenever Steve, Bucky and her cross paths on their way to the recycling center), but they’ve never texted beyond <em>Hey I’m sorry to bother you but did my cat jump the fence again?</em> and <em>Got your mail by mistake, sliding it under your door</em>, or its variant <em>throwing it over the fence</em>.</p><p>(At least Steve’s got good aim and doesn’t drop anything on Bucky’s vegetables. Bucky appreciates that.)</p><p>Even face-to-face interaction’s been pretty limited to common neighbor happenings, too, except for that one barbeque a year ago someone down the street hosted; Bucky got to hang out with Steve and Ben for a while and Bucky learned that Steve was a widower, had lost his wife to cancer a few years back, was a single dad to Ben who currently attended third grade, and worked for some undisclosed government branch.</p><p>He takes a quick pic of Ben on the couch with Al on his lap as they watch <em>Too Cute!</em> on Animal Planet.</p><p>Steve texts back pretty quickly.</p><p><strong>Neighbor Steve: </strong>Oh no he loves that one</p><p><strong>Neighbor Steve: </strong>That and Alpine are why I’ve been told I better consider a kitten for Christmas</p><p><strong>Me:</strong> Adopt, don’t shop</p><p><strong>Neighbor Steve:</strong> If I dared to shop my mother would disown me</p><p><strong>Me:</strong> Sounds like a cool lady</p><p><strong>Me:</strong> Full disclosure he’s prepared to ask Grandma Sarah for a kitten if you don’t deliver</p><p><strong>Me:</strong> Didn’t hear it from me</p><p><strong>Neighbor Steve:</strong> The audacity</p><p><strong>Neighbor Steve:</strong> Thanks for the heads-up</p><p><strong>Neighbor Steve:</strong> I’m almost done here, be there in about 20-30 minutes</p><p><strong>Me:</strong> Sure, nbd, take your time</p><p><strong>Neighbor Steve:</strong> Thanks again, Buck. Really</p><p><strong>Me:</strong> Is no problem Steve, really</p><p>Ben calls from the couch just then, “Hey, Bucky? When’s Alpine’s birthday?”</p><p>Bucky locks his phone and puts it back on the table. “The Shelter couldn’t find out, but they wrote July 4th on her certificate,” Bucky tells him.</p><p>“No way,” Ben giggles, “that’s my dad’s birthday, too!”</p><p>Bucky cannot believe. “They can be birthday-buddies now,” he grins.</p><p>Ben laughs and then returns to his conversation with Alpine, while Bucky returns to his emails. He’s got a lot of consultations this week that he’s not really looking forward to. He wonders if maybe he can shove them at Clint—he’s a people-person, he’ll probably enjoy it better than Bucky would.</p><p>“Bucky,” Ben calls, “can I come over tomorrow morning to feed Al breakfast?”</p><p>Bucky does a double take. “Aren’t you supposed to go to be in school in the morning?”</p><p>“It’s a week off!” Ben tells him with the biggest grin Bucky’s seen so far.</p><p>“Oh. Uhm, but I gotta work, buddy, and I feed her before I leave.”</p><p>Ben looks a little crestfallen. “Maybe on Saturday then?”</p><p>“Sure,” Bucky smiles, “let’s ask your dad later.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The knock at the door finds Bucky with his laptop on the living room couch (ignoring Tony’s emails) and Ben going through all the available toys and shoving whatever Al ignores (finally) into The Bucket. Bucky had been meaning to get to that.</p><p>Steve still looks rumpled and tired but mostly okay when Bucky opens the door. His smile is kinda sleepy, too, as he says, “Hey, Buck.”</p><p>“Hey,” Bucky smiles back, moving to the side, “everything go okay at work? Come in, Ben’s helping Al get her toys in order.”</p><p>“She has more toys than I do, dad,” Ben tells him gleefully from the couch.</p><p>Steve steps carefully past Bucky’s open door and hangs in the entryway, smiling first at Bucky (who doesn’t swoon) and then at Ben (who ignores him in order to kiss Alpine’s head). “At least she keeps hers in order, huh?”</p><p>“I helped!” Ben yelps. “Bucky, tell him!”</p><p>“He did,” Bucky agrees, trying not to laugh.</p><p>Steve shakes his head, though he’s smiling. “Alright, good. Ready to go home, Ben? It’s way past your bedtime. Pretty sure it’s way past Alpine’s bedtime, too.”</p><p>At this he slides a smile at Bucky, who smiles back only because he’s never been on the receiving end of it so many times in a day. Also, his crush might be pathetic.</p><p>Ben groans but dutifully and carefully picks Al from his lap and puts her down on the couch. She meows at him and Ben giggles, kissing her head again. “Bye, Al, it was nice playing with you.” He hurries over, hugs Bucky around the waist. “Thanks for letting me play with Alpine, Bucky.”</p><p>Bucky very stoically pretends he isn’t floored and slowly growing fonder and fonder of this kid. He pats Ben’s shoulder gently, smiling down at him. “It was nice having you over, Ben.”</p><p>Ben grins and then hurries over to his dad. Steve’s looking at him like he’s almost ready to burst into tears. “Dad, did you know Alpine’s birthday is the same as yours?”</p><p>Steve looks up at Bucky in surprise. “Really? No way. Sounds like a conspiracy.”</p><p>Bucky shrugs. “It’s on her certificate. I don’t make the rules, Steve.”</p><p>“Can Bucky and Alpine come over for your birthday next year, dad?” Ben asks excitedly on their way out. “You can make lasagna! Bucky likes lasagna, don’t you, Bucky? And I know where Al’s food is so we can have a plate for her, too.”</p><p>Well, that escalated quickly. Bucky grins at Steve as he sputters a little, holding Ben by the shoulder and steering him in the right direction before he face-plants off the front stoop. “Okay, Ben, we’ll see,” he says, smiling apologetically at Bucky, who’s having the time of his life right now. “Come on, we gotta get home.”</p><p>“Okay, but don’t forget, Bucky, you’re invited!” Ben says and then lets Steve lead him down the front walk. “Bye!”</p><p>“Thanks for everything, Bucky,” Steve says. “We really appreciate it.”</p><p>“No problem,” Bucky tells him, smiling back and waving, “have a good night, you two.”</p><p>He closes the door and heads back to the couch, where Al’s cuddled and looking sad. “I know, baby, I know”, he tells her, and pets her as he picks her up so they can get ready for bed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you everyone for the comments and kudos, i appreciate them so much ;w;</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Early the next morning, Steve texts him again. So it’s a thing they do now, huh. Bucky only marginally feels giddy as he unlocks his phone while walking into the SI building.</p>
<p><strong>Steve: </strong>Your cat has hijacked my birthday</p>
<p><strong>Steve: </strong>Ben’s inviting everyone to next year’s 4th of july so they can meet Al</p>
<p><strong>Me</strong>: The reach of Alpine Barnes… iconic</p>
<p><strong>Me: </strong>I would laugh but it’s actually really cute</p>
<p><strong>Steve: </strong>You’re not the one who’s just been tasked with making eight lasagnas</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> That sounds like a lot of fun</p>
<p><strong>Steve:</strong> It isn’t, it involves a lot crying on my end, and tummy aches on Ben’s</p>
<p><strong>Steve</strong>: Projectile vomiting is a thing at his age</p>
<p>Bucky snorts so hard that he almost hurls himself across the floor and straight into Nat’s office. It’s too early to face Nat, though, so Bucky tries to compose himself and makes it to his office in time for Peter to poke his head in and say, “Hey, you’re here early. Coffee?”</p>
<p>“Sure, yeah,” Bucky says absently as he sits down on his desk and unlocks his phone again. Steve’s texted him some more.</p>
<p><strong>Steve:</strong> Anyways I guess you and Alpine are invited next year</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> Don’t sound so excited, gee</p>
<p><strong>Steve:</strong> NO I MEAN OF COURSE YOU ARE INVITED</p>
<p><strong>Steve:</strong> I DIDN’T MEAN IT LIKE THAT</p>
<p><strong>Steve:</strong> Of course you’re invited Bucky I’m sorry I implied differently</p>
<p><em>God</em>, this guy. Seriously. Bucky takes a deep breath, stares at the ceiling of his office and exhales loudly.</p>
<p>“You look stressed,” Peter comments as he hands Bucky his coffee. He squints. “Why.”</p>
<p>“My neighbor,” Bucky stresses, very stressed, “is too much for me. He’s too cute. Too endearing. Look, I wanna pinch his cheeks and run fingers through his hair but I also want to climb him like a goddamn tree. You feel?”</p>
<p>“I feel,” Peter nods, still squinting. He waves at Bucky’s phone, which continues to ping with Steve’s messages that Bucky is already sweating over. “Have fun, then. I’ll be at my desk. Just yell if you need me.”</p>
<p>“Will do,” Bucky sighs. “Hey, wait, did you forward today’s meetings to Clint? I emailed you pretty late last night—”</p>
<p>“It’s done, boss,” Peter tells him with a very self-sufficient grin. “Your afternoon’s cleared. There’s still that meeting with the board at 4, though, can’t get out of that one.”</p>
<p>“Sadly,” Bucky grumbles.</p>
<p>“Yep.” Peter obnoxiously pops the ‘p’. “Anyway, I’ll be at my desk. It’s thesis revision day so, you know, yell extra hard.”</p>
<p>Bucky sighs and gets back to staring at his phone for the next five seconds. He picks it up.</p>
<p><strong>Steve</strong>: ☹ Bucky I’m sorry I didn’t mean that</p>
<p><strong>Steve</strong>: Ok you’re probably working and I should be too</p>
<p><strong>Steve</strong>: Won’t disturb you any longer, have a good day</p>
<p><strong>Me</strong>: Good god Rogers calm down</p>
<p><strong>Me</strong>: I was joking</p>
<p><strong>Me</strong>: Sorry it didn’t come across as such</p>
<p><strong>Me</strong>: I’d love to join you guys for your birthday</p>
<p><strong>Me</strong>: I hope you have a good day at work too 😊</p>
<p>Bucky winces at the last one. Like, what is that, seriously. Is he suddenly thirteen again? What the hell. Steve doesn’t text back but Bucky tries not to take it to heart too much, considering he does have work to focus on.</p>
<p>So, he locks his phone, shoves it aside, and gets to it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nat takes a look at him during lunch and smirks in that way where she doesn’t move a single muscle on her face. It’s infuriating but also very impressive. Scary, too.</p>
<p>“What,” he grumbles, stabbing a piece of lettuce with his fork. “You’ve got The Face.”</p>
<p>Natasha chews thoughtfully without looking away. “Huh. Defensive already, are we.”</p>
<p>Bucky wrinkles his nose. “I am <em>not</em> defensive. But you’ve got the face, and I wanna know why.”</p>
<p>She takes a sip of her drink. “You look… Concerned. Yeah, let’s go with that. It’s not about work, though, because I know you had Parker move your meetings so you can work on that thing with Tony. It’s not the kitten, either, because we were together yesterday, and you’d had mentioned if something was wrong. So,” she tilts her mouth into a tiny smile, “whatever’s got you like this, happened after you left. Oh, I got your keys, by the way, they’re in my purse.”</p>
<p>Bucky groans. “My fucking keys.” He puts his fork down and sags a little deeper on the chair. “You remember my neighbor?”</p>
<p>Nat makes a humming sound. “The nosy one or the hot one?”</p>
<p>“Ugh, he’s not just ‘the hot one’, okay, but, yeah, Steve, yes. I had to climb the fence yesterday because I forgot my keys, as you already know.” Bucky sighs. “He’s always so nice. He just has this aura about him, you know. He has a kid, and yesterday he had an emergency and I babysat for a little while. The kid—his name’s Ben—is also so nice.”</p>
<p>“You were in charge of a child?” Nat asks. The disbelieving tone is uncalled for.</p>
<p>“I am a responsible adult, so yes,” Bucky tells her with a roll of eyes. “Didn’t even feel like I was babysitting, you know, it was like we were just hanging out. Ben’s real fond of Al and she has a weakness for him, too, I just know it. She got mopey after he left, wouldn’t accept those salmon treats you got her. He’s a good kid, we like him a lot.”</p>
<p>Nat shoves the chicken off her plate and into Bucky’s. She’s got an eyebrow quirked. “So your neighbor just… dropped his kid on your door.”</p>
<p>“I know what you’re thinking,” Bucky admits, shoving the beets towards the edge of the plate so Nat can pick them up. “He’s a respectable guy, okay, I know he has crazy hours at work, being in government and all that. I’ve met the sitter, too, she lets me in sometimes so I can pick Al off their patio and she looks like she could incapacitate a person in under five seconds.” The quirked eyebrow goes higher, if possible. “Look, I’m not trying to make up excuses for the guy, but it was late, okay? And I know from experience how shitty it is when you don’t have a nanny to rely on and it’s an emergency. Becca and I basically spent all of 95’ in Mrs. Lopez’s kitchen doing our homework and learning how to make tamales from scratch.”</p>
<p>Nat studies him quietly, and Bucky feels like he’s under a microscope all of a sudden. He busies himself with shoving some more chicken into his mouth, not looking at her as he chews.</p>
<p>“It was a good thing that you did for him,” she eventually says. She doesn’t look all that convinced, but she smiles a little softer and tells him, “You know, Clint’s been meaning to go on vacation, maybe we can bribe you into sitting Pizza Dog for a weekend.”</p>
<p>Bucky huffs a laugh and takes the change in topic for what it is. “That’s a terrible name, you gonna go along with it?”</p>
<p>She shrugs. “It’s growing on me. It’s better than Alpine.”</p>
<p>“You take that back,” Bucky warns, pointing his fork at her, “I won’t have you speaking ill of my child’s name.”</p>
<p>“Not my fault you suck at names, Barnes,” she shrugs again, though this time she’s got that shit-eating grin on her face that’s more infuriating than the not-smiling. “Anyways, she’s cute enough we’re willing to pass it up. Here, have some more chicken.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>(Bucky sullenly texts Becca after lunch, asks, <em>Is my cat’s name that bad</em>.</p>
<p>She replies with, <em>is this a trick question? is there a right answer you’re fishing for here or????</em></p>
<p>“Whoa, who the hell pissed in your circuits,” Tony drawls from across the table.</p>
<p>“Shut up,” Bucky tells him, locking his phone and putting it face down on the conference table. “My cat’s name is beautiful and that’s all you need to know.”</p>
<p>“Alpine is lovely,” Shuri agrees.</p>
<p>“You’re my favorite boss,” Bucky tells her.</p>
<p>Across the table, Tony rolls his eyes so hard it’s a miracle they don’t fall off his face.)</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bucky’s just dumped his jacket on the kitchen counter and on the way to get something to drink from the fridge when there’s a knock on his door and a loud giggle. It makes Bucky grin a little, because Al suddenly shows up from wherever she’s been napping and makes it for the door faster than Bucky does.</p>
<p>“Stay,” he tells her, and she blinks blue eyes up at him like saying, <em>The fuck you just said to me</em>. What a defiant little shit. Bucky loves her <em>so much</em>.</p>
<p>Steve and Ben are both grinning when Bucky finally opens the door, Al meowing loudly when Ben instantly crouches down to pet her. Steve looks a lot more put together than he had yesterday in his green sweater and dark jeans, so that’s good. He’s even managed to tame his hair; Bucky’s impressed and a little jealous, because when he’d had long-ish hair, it’d been a nightmare.</p>
<p>“Hey, guys,” Bucky says, eyeing the huge platter of cookies that Steve’s holding. They’ve got blue and white frosting, some of it a little bit smudged under the film wrap. “You didn’t,” he says, mostly to Steve, because Ben’s ignoring everyone and having a very animated conversation with Alpine.</p>
<p>“We wanted to do something nice for you,” Steve says, a blush across the bridge of his nose. It’s going to kill Bucky dead.</p>
<p>“So, you made me cookies, huh.” Bucky refrains from pointing out that Ben still has blue frosting on his forehead and traces of flour in his dark hair.</p>
<p>Ben grins up at him. “I helped with the mixing.”</p>
<p>“I can see that went well,” Bucky nods. Steve covers his snort with a cough.</p>
<p>“And the frosting,” Ben adds, with a giggle.</p>
<p>“You guys didn’t have to,” Bucky tries, but Steve holds up a hand, the one currently not balancing fifteen cookies on a plate, shaking his head.</p>
<p>“We wanted to,” he says, offering the plate to Bucky, who takes it with his right hand. “Hopefully you’ll like them.”</p>
<p>“AAAAAH,” Ben yells, and Steve startles so bad he yelps, high-pitched, and Bucky nearly drops his platter of nice cookies on top of Al, who barely stirs, “I forgot Al’s cookies,” and then he takes off.</p>
<p>“How much sugar has he had,” Bucky asks, watching as Ben literally jumps over the bush.</p>
<p>Steve sighs, shrugs a shoulder. “Too much to keep track,” he admits. “At least he’ll sleep like the dead when he drops in a couple of hours.”</p>
<p>Bucky doubts he’ll drop ‘in a couple of hours’ but refrains from saying anything. He squints a little. “You guys made cookies for Alpine as well?”</p>
<p>Steve looks sheepish, rubs a hand across the back of his neck. “Ben found a recipe on YouTube.” He hurries to add, “It’s all organic, we made sure, so she can eat it—I can forward you the recipe so you can check—”</p>
<p>“It’s okay,” Bucky tells him gently, waving it off. “I trust you guys.”</p>
<p>Steve’s blush spreads a little to the tips of his ears, and Bucky’s stomach tries to do the salsa along with his lungs. Seriously, this guy. Bucky’s so touched they even went and made cookies for Al, too. Who even does that.</p>
<p>Al meows loudly up at them both, possibly unimpressed that no one’s giving her any attention. It’s honestly a miracle that she hasn’t ran after Ben.</p>
<p>“She says thank you,” Bucky says, clearing his throat a little and smiling down at her.</p>
<p>“She’s very welcome,” Steve says, a tiny smile mirroring Bucky’s.</p>
<p>Ben returns just then with the biggest Tupperware container with two small, beige-ish cookies wrapped messily with a paper napkin. “I’m back,” he announces, and at the sight of the Tupperware—he’s even brought the hermetic lid—Steve groans a, “Ben, there were plenty of <em>smaller</em> ones to get.”</p>
<p>“I couldn’t find them,” Ben shrugs, and shoves the thing at Bucky. “These are for Al, she can have them for dinner once they’re cool.”</p>
<p>“Oh, uh,” Bucky balances the plate on his right hand and the container on the left one, tucked to his side it’s so big. “Thanks, guys. We appreciate it a lot.” Steve’s still wincing at Ben’s choice of cookie boxing, so Bucky adds, “I’ll get you the plates back later. Don’t worry about it, Steve.”</p>
<p>It looks like Steve wants to say something, he even opens and closes his mouth a few times—times in which Bucky <em>doesn’t</em> stare at his lips—but in the end he smiles and huffs a, “Sure thing, Buck. We’ll let you enjoy the cookies now. Come on, Ben.”</p>
<p>“Hey, help me with the door?” Bucky asks before they head down, tilting his chin at both occupied hands and the foot he’s currently trying to corral Al with to keep her from the threshold.</p>
<p>“Right, sure, yeah,” Steve nods.</p>
<p>“Bye, Bucky! Bye, Al!” Ben doesn’t wait for Steve, he just rushes down the steps and disappears. At least this time he walks around the bush, and not over it.</p>
<p>“Sugar, Rogers,” Bucky huffs, “keep track of it.”</p>
<p>“God, don’t remind me,” Steve chuckles, and then smiles one last time—soft, sort of fond, and says “See you later, Bucky,” before closing the door behind himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>(The cookies are <em>good</em>. Even Al’s cookies are good, what the fuck. Yes, Bucky tried them.</p>
<p><em>Cookies were delicious, we enjoyed them very much, thank you</em> Bucky texts as he stores the four cookies left (out of <em>a dozen</em>, god) in a small plate and Al’s single one on a napkin right next to his. He even sends Steve a picture of them.</p>
<p><strong>Steve:</strong> Glad you enjoyed them 😊😸</p>
<p>Bucky <em>knows</em> he’s smiling at his phone like a fool, but cares very little about it.)</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>aaaaaah drop me a comment if you like! or come say hi at <a href="http://bean-pod.tumblr.com">tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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